The students magazine

City of Contrasts

Where to start? There is no dot, no ending, no fixed definition of Scotland’s capital. There should be ellipsis points creating association spaces to be able to recognize the city’s unique diversity. As a city of paradoxes, one won’t be surprised that Edinburgh was the birth place of Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The […]

Where to start? There is no dot, no ending, no fixed definition of Scotland’s capital. There should be ellipsis points creating association spaces to be able to recognize the city’s unique diversity.
As a city of paradoxes, one won’t be surprised that Edinburgh was the birth place of Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The notorious author called it: “Half a capital and half a country town, the whole city leads a double existence; it has long trances of the one and flashes of the other; […] it is half alive and half a monumental marble.”
The same conflicting nature seems to reflect almost every aspect of urban life, be it the historical, the cultural or the atmospheric ones. Its moderate size does not restrict its cosmopolitan flair. A rough and strong appearance meets elegant and romantic elements that hold bittersweet memories of bygone days. Just like the tradition meets the spirit of the time, both are unified by the open-hearted, welcoming people of Edinburgh.

There are ellipsis points creating association spaces which show the city’s endlessness. With this in mind our guidebook is not supposed to describe Edinburgh as a fixed, absolute and inflexible construct. This booklet shall rather be an assistance supporting you to find your own definition of Edinburgh. Make your personal experiences within the city’s walls. And if our collaborative work helps you doing so, the super-individual goal of the CTR program will be accomplished.
Edinburgh has never been fully explored. And it never will be.

EDINBURGH – everything and nothing, up and down, sunny and rainy, traditional and modern, eerie and romantic
Team CTR March 2016